Pastoral Notes 27th March, 2016

EASTER FLOWERS

Every year a group of parishioners gather to make the paper Easter flowers which are then scattered over the Congregation at the end of the Easter Vigil Mass, usually about 11pm! This effort has to be thanked, especially as it brings a smile to so many faces and provides a memento of the Easter celebration. It is a custom I came across many years ago when I had the opportunity to attend the Easter Vigil in the Russian College in Rome (really Ukranian), where the services are celebrated according to the Eastern way, and language, and their particularly haunting chants. It is also a custom in eastern parts to greet each other on Easter Day with the words Christ is Risen, to which one has to reply: He is truly Risen – which seems a fine way to greet each other in preparation for Holy Communion on Easter Night!